The BBC has reported today that The US economy grew by an annualized rate of 5.7% between October and December, official figures have shown.  The number, which is a first estimate, is a big rise from the previous quarter’s growth rate of 2.2%.  It suggests the country’s economy is growing at its fastest pace for six years and confirms the US economy has left its year-long recession behind.  This is very positive for Medical Tourism as it shows things are turning around.

Till next time,

~Stephanie

A recent national healthcare trend survey from Buck Consultants projected double-digit rate increases for health insurance in the U.S.  The study analyzed responses from over 100 health insurers and HMOs. Insurers providing medical trends for the survey cover a total of approximately 78 million people.  Costs for the most popular medical plans are projected to increase by more than 10 percent.   Rate increases for health insurance plans are supposed to increase 11.1% for Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)    11.1%, 10.9% for Point-of-service (POS) health plans, 10.3% for HMOs, and 10.3% for High Deductible Consumer Driven Health Plans.   In 2009 average cost of health insurance for an individual in the US was $4,824, and for a family $13,375.  With an average of over 10% rate increases per year by 2020 this means the cost of health insurance per year could be as high as or higher than  $13,763 for an individual and $38,160 for a family per year.  Now that healthcare reform has died, US health insurance carriers and employers are going to turn faster to medical tourism as a solution to reduce healthcare costs as the US healthcare crisis continues to worsen.

Till next time,

~Stephanie

The 1st Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference Korea takes place in Seoul Korea on April 13-15th 2010. Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference Korea Speakers Announced for the conference will feature up to 1,000 attendees from over 25 countries and will focus on the high quality of healthcare available in Asia.  

The conference is a joint initiative between the Medical Tourism Association (MTA) and Korean Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) is funded by the Korean government and was established to support the Korean health industry. KHIDI develops the national strategies and policies on global healthcare industry as well as promotes Korean healthcare brand “Medical Korea” to the world.

“This Congress has been developed to bring to light the current and future issues of medical tourism and global healthcare.  The MTA and KHIDI have developed an agenda designed to stimulate discussion about global trends and generate new business to business relationships all over Asia,” says Renée-Marie Stephano, President of the Medical Tourism Association.

We would like to announce some of our expert speakers including:

Ms. Jaehee Jeon, Minister of Health, Korea Health Ministry
Dr. Bupwan Kim, President, KHIDI
Renee- Marie Stephano, President, Medical Tourism Association
Laila Al Jassmi, CEO – Clinical Support Services Sector, Dubai Health Authority
Dr. Kyungwon Jang, Director General, KHIDI
Mr. Youngho Lee, Director, KHIDI
Rosanna Moreno, Executive Director, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center
Dr. Prem Jagyasi Exhealth, Dubai
Jonathan Edelheit, CEO, Medical Tourism Association
Stephanie Kuo, President of WAAAM China
Brad Cook, International Department Director, Clinica Biblica Hospital, Costa Rica
Zahid Hamid, Euro Medical Tours
Mr. James Lee, Wooridul Hospital
Dr. Bernard Park, KAMA
Dr. Chulsoo Hyun, KAMA
Dr. Bongsik Woo, CEO, Docs Tour
Cagri Kanver, Senior Associate/Senior Consultant, HOK
Tom O’Hara, CEO, Surgical Trip
Todd Fitz, Director of Healthcare Consulting, HOK
Alex Piper, OneWorld Global Healthcare Solutions
Jim McCormick, Premiere Medical Travel
David Vequist, Center for Medical Tourism Research

Seoul, Korea is one the emerging leading destinations for medical tourism and global healthcare in the world. Conference highlights include up to 1000 attendees from over 25 countries bringing together the stakeholders for intense networking events and educational opportunities. The conference delegates would include worldwide selection of Healthcare Providers, International Insurance Providers, Employers, Top Medical Tourism Facilitators, Travel Agents and Referring Physicians.

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) is funded by the government and was established to support the Korean health industry. This industry will form an essential part of 21st century’s knowledge based economy and will be of the greatest importance to the people’s health. Advanced countries are aware of the importance and its leading role in the world’s economy. Consequently they have made great efforts to promote R&D and assure the development of appropriate professional human resources. Our health industry including human genome, gene medical treatment, ordering medicine has made a foundation which will lead the world in the field of medical technology.

The Medical Tourism Association is the first international non-profit association made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical tourism facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliated companies and members with the common goal of promoting the highest level of quality of healthcare to patients in a global environment. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education. Medical Tourism is often referred to as medical travel and health tourism. http://www.MedicalTourismAssociation.com

Till next time,

~Stephanie

Republican Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts in winning Senator Kennedy’s seat for the Senate could grind President Obama’s agenda to a halt and could be a vision of the future American’s not being happy with the current healthcare reform bill and not wanting it to pass as it currently is. No one expected this victory especially since in Massachusetts Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-to-1 in the state — 37 percent of registered voters are Democrats, 12 percent are Republicans and 51 percent are unaffiliated. Obama won Massachusetts by 26 percentage points in the 2008 presidential election. This could also be an eye opener for other Democrats who were pushing through healthcare reform who have elections upcoming in their states.

The Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference Korea (http://www.asiamedicaltourismcongress.com) will take place April, 13-16th, 2010 in Seoul as a joint initiative between the Medical Tourism Association (MTA) and Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). Seoul, Korea is one of the emerging leading destinations for medical tourism and global healthcare in the world. Asia is the first region to promote medical tourism, with millions of patients from all over the world traveling for medical care, dental care and cosmetic surgery as well as executive health checkups.

Jae-Hee Jeon, the Minister for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs stated, “Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference Korea 2010 is the first annual global healthcare conference hosted by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs of Korea. We are proud to have the event to prove to the world our excellence in quality of care and the readiness of Korea Government and healthcare providers to better serve international patients medically and financially in need.”

This Conference will feature up to 1000 attendees from over 25 countries bringing together the stakeholders for intense networking events and educational opportunities. The conference delegates would include worldwide selection of Healthcare Providers, International Insurance Providers, Employers, Top Medical Tourism Facilitators, Travel Agents and Referring Physicians.

Dr. Bupwan Kim, the President of KHIDI, said, “There has been a significant increase of the incoming foreign patients looking for Korea’s world-class healthcare services since 2007. As the leading healthcare country in Asia, we’d like to discuss all the critical issues in regard to the global healthcare industry and the best way to develop the industry through the Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Congress Korea 2010. This conference will be the great opportunity to develop and reinforce global networks among medical providers, insurance companies and facilitators.”

This conference is a Global Healthcare Conference event in partnership with the Medical Tourism Association, the first international non-profit association made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliated companies and members with the common goal of promoting the highest level of quality of healthcare to patients in a global environment.

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) is funded by the Korean government and was established to support the Korean health industry. KHIDI develops the national strategies and policies on global healthcare industry as well as promotes Korean healthcare brand “Medical Korea” to the world.

For more information on the Congress, please contact info@asiamedicaltourismcongress.com, http://www.asiamedicaltourismcongress.com

SOURCE Medical Tourism Association

Today, USA TODAY named Medical Tourism as on of Top Ten Travel Trends of 2010! To read more about this, check out the article at: http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/media.html.

Renee

An increasing number of people are travelling outside of the UAE to undergo medical procedures, from hip replacements to face lifts. Sudeshna Ghosh takes a look at the top medical tourism destinations. To read more, please go to our MEDIA page at: http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/media.html. Click on the article “Journey to Wellness from the UAE”

Renee

The MTA, along with Chihuahua Medical City,will be hosting a “FAM” Trip, or Familiarization Trip to Chihuahua Mexico January 18th-21st 2010.

Chihuahua Medical City is a strategy that brings together the best hopsitals and clinics in the city of Chihuahua. Their mission is to provide high-quality healthcare and travel services to both the domestic and international market, integrating the value chain sectors. In recent years Mexico has become a popular destination for Medical Tourism, especially for US citizens, since the proximity is very convenient. There is also a high rate of fluency of both English and Spanish. Like most Latin America countries, Mexico has of overall friendly and family oriented culture. Flights are offered in plenty from the US and airfares are reasonable. If you live in Texas you even have the option to drive, as its about a 3 hour drive from El Paso.

To learn more about MTA FAM Trips please go to http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/familiarization-tour.html

Renee